LONDON — Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has suggested that his firm could launch a new hatchback model in Europe in the future.
Tesla currently sells two SUVs in the Model Y and Model X, as well as the Model S executive saloon and the Model 3 sedan. It doesn’t, however, sell any vehicles that are similar in size to say a Volkswagen Golf, a Ford Fiesta, or a Mini Cooper.
“Possibly in Europe it would make sense to do, I guess, a compact car, perhaps a hatchback or something like that,” Musk said Tuesday at a virtual conference on batteries hosted by the German government, according to Reuters.
“In the U.S., the cars tend to be bigger for personal taste reasons,” he said. “In Europe, (they) tend to be smaller,” added Musk, who leapfrogged Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person this week.
Musk also told the conference how he had experienced some problems parking his Model X, which is five-meters long, in the German capital of Berlin. “I was driving a Model X around Berlin and we had quite a bit of trouble finding a parking space where we could fit,” he said.
Tesla also plans to sell a “Cybertruck” vehicle worldwide in the next two years. The electric carmaker says it will have the the “utility of a truck with sports car performance.”
Tesla’s market cap hit $500 billion for the first time on Tuesday after its stock price surpassed $527.48 per share.
The company has been on a tear this year, with its stock price increasing more than fivefold. While the mark is largely symbolic, it underscores Musk’s push for growth. Tesla became the first $100 billion publicly-listed U.S. carmaker in January.
— CNBC’s Jessica Bursztynsky contributed to this article.
